Recovery
by turbomagnus
Summary: :Power Rangers Literati 18:  After the Escalation, the Literati Rangers and their enemies both are left to deal with the consequences of what happened.


Disclaimer: While I don't own the overall concept of Power Rangers, Zords, and all else that goes with it, I, along with the friends that are involved with the story, do own Power Rangers Literati itself and its components.

* * *

Power Rangers Literati  
"Recovery"  
By J.T. Magnus, "Turbo"

* * *

_"Database Journal, Five-twenty-four... Normally Johnnie is the one who records these, but he can't. For the last two weeks I've had to watch as the man I love lies here on the cot in a coma. Whatever happened before he got to us, what happened when we were fighting Marius' shape-shifter, it caught up with him just as we got to his apartment. He'd just finished reading the notice that he was being evicted when he collapsed and passed out. Because hospitals would ask too many questions, we brought him here to the Command Center and waited. We push ourselves too hard in our fights and suffer for it, this is the second time one of us has ended up in a coma. After a few days, as much as I hated it, we... I had to accept he might not wake up as quickly as Yolanda did. She had suffered injuries, he... as close as we can tell, he overloaded himself with energy from the Power Grid to keep fighting. Our only saving grace is that it looks like we did enough damage to our enemies to keep them from attacking again for a while. Right now, the Command Center's a mess with his things scattered around, moved out of his former apartment for safekeeping in case he doesn't wake up before the notice runs out. We don't know when he'll recover from it... or... or if."_

_"God," Jessica broke down slightly as the computer continued to record, "It's like my worst fear coming true, only this time it's not one of Starr's mind games, it's real. It wasn't even a day before things started happening... I don't think I've ever lost my control like that before, not since... not for a long time..."_

* * *

Jessica had met J.T.'s father before and hadn't enjoyed the experience, he had all of her partner's arrogance with none of the ability. When he had called the store asking to speak with her, she thought that he might have finally decided to put his opinions on what J.T. should do and be to the side and try to be a father for once. She was unpleasantly surprised when she met him at the same eatery that J.T. had only the day before and didn't even ask if everything was okay after J.T.'s abrupt departure before he started. As he spoke heedless of any response or reaction from her, Jessica began to silently fume. Her other half was in a coma from risking his life to protect others and this ungrateful ass had the gall to insult him - simply because he was at a place in his life where he knew what he wanted, had it and didn't need more - the thought caused her to snap and storm away, a very specific goal in mind.

* * *

"Something I can do for you, Jessica?"

"No," the red-head answered, picking up the katana that Amanda had brought to the store that morning, "Just need to borrow this; I'll be right back."

Amanda stood there a moment as Jessica walked out the door and down the street, a slightly puzzled look on her face, then shrugged and followed her.

* * *

J.T.'s father never expected to have his lunch cut in half by the girl his son was involved with, or for her to destroy the table he was eating at while she yelled like a maniac before putting the point of a sword to his throat.

"Now... Care to finish our conversation, shit-for-brains?"

Jon, standing nearby, nodded at Amanda when she arrived.

Amanda frowned as she considered how to react to her former-boyfriend and current-foe's presence, "What happened here?"

"He tried to talk her out of seeing John 'for the sake of both their futures'. What do you think we should do?"

Amanda growled, reminded all too well of her own parents, "Sell tickets."

"We could do that... or we could go get Red out of there before someone ends up having to bail her out of lock-up," Jon countered.

"You're actually acting like you care about someone other than you, I'm impressed."

"Thanks - it's nice to get compliments from you instead of magick blasts."

"It's nice to have a reason not to shoot you."

Jon folded his arms, "You never needed a reason with the hairbrush."

"That's different."

* * *

_"Only two of us don't have katana or something similar. Justin's sword is some kind of movie-replica broadsword... and really, that's the kind of thing I have Johnnie for... so that doesn't bother us, but Amanda can be scary with that hairbrush... __Maybe Johnnie's right about being a bad influence on me... or an influence, anyway, I'm not so sure it's a bad one. Fortuately, the resturaunt owner didn't press charges and the police like us. God alone knows why. We've all been on edge since the battle, one of the others would have a metaphor for it about swords or tinder... Truthfully, I think it's closer to a stick of dynamite with the lit fuse burning away."_

* * *

Another day of Hell in Mr. Phillips' Computer Graphic Design class had come to an end, with Daniel, Marius and the other students filing out of the classroom.

"So, she hits him with her hairbrush, right? He grumbles and says, 'I don't need this. I'm not even supposed to be here today.'"

At the others' silence, Daniel shrugged, "I guess it's something you'd have to be on the inside to get."

One of Daniel's classmates shook his head, "How are you guys still free?"

"What can we say? People like us."

"Really?" One of the other classmates involved in the conversation asked, "Name some."

"We like us."

"Doesn't count," the second student countered

"Hm… The girls who always hit on him at the mall like Magnus"

The first classmate frowned, "Isn't he dating someone?"

"Yeah, I'm waiting on Jessica to snap and kill one of the trixies that are doing it."

The first student frowned again, "'Trixie'?"

"Daniel slang," The second classmate explained, "Think human Barbie dolls with less intelligence than the plastic ones."

"You forgot the part about being more sexually forward than Paris Hilton on television," Daniel chided.

"Hey, I haven't had as long to learn how you speak as some people," Classmate one shrugged.

"You think I'M hard to understand, you should try to understand the psychotic dragon-ninja…"

One blinked, "Psychotic… what?"

"Psychotic. Dragon. Ninja. …Let's just say that we're all crazy, but Magnus may very well be insane and leave it at that, okay?"

"I'll never get over the names you give each other," The first student shook his head, "'Psychotic dragon ninja', 'Shuichi', 'Iggy'... 'Chibi'."

"We've already got a 'Justin', Chibi-Justin," Daniel informed him, "He's had the name longer than you by a few months."

A pair of arms wrapped around Daniel's waist from behind him and with hot breath a voice whispered lowly, "All your dreams are about to come true…"

As he watched Daniel turn to embrace Amanda, the second of Daniel's classmates groaned and muttered to himself under his breath, hoping never to be caught acting like that.

"Well, well," Marius, who despised Daniel for being a better student and was in turn disliked by the rest of the class - Daniel included - for his attitude, sneered, "If it isn't the little witch and her familiar."

When Amanda broke free from Daniel's grasp and turned to face Marius, the nearby classmate could swear that her eyes turned from their usual blue and flashed yellow.

"You Have No Idea."

For a moment, the onlooker was taken aback by how it seemed like the world around them was getting ready to explode as Amanda glared at Marius.

"Amanda, we've got _stocking_ to do at work," Daniel said out loud before muttering under his breath, "Please let it work…"

"Okay!" The blonde suddenly said in a voice that was far too happy before somehow instantly wrapping herself up in Daniel's arms, "You're a good man, you know that, Dan-chan?"

"And you're too good for me, Mandi-chan," he answered, tightening his arms slightly, "I don't know what you see in me."

"I wonder the same thing," Amanda replied softly.

"Spare me the senseless drivel," Marius spat, turning and storming back into the classroom.

* * *

When he was still in high school, Zack had combined freestyle dancing with martial arts to create his own style he called 'Hip-Hop-Kido', even ten years later, he still did all he could to keep in practice with it, even putting a small gym in his basement when he moved to Scenic City.

Which was where he was currently seeing which would run out first; the durability of his heavy bag, the skin on his knuckles or the frustration he felt with himself. He had heard the Power's call and denied it, and now... someone he thought of as a friend despite the age difference had suffered. If he had answered, if he had been there...

Zack threw another volley of punches.

Could he have made a difference? Or would he have just gotten in the way? He wasn't sure. All he knew was that next time the call came, he'd be there and he'd be ready.

* * *

Yolanda stood on the bridge, leaning against the rail, looking out over the Orenda River and losing herself in her thoughts.

'One gets defensive, one gets hostile and the third hides,' the brunette thought as she listened to the water lap around the legs of the bridge, 'I can smell it in the air, feel it in the water, I won't be able to hide much longer.'

"I don't know if that's a bad thing," Yolanda said out-loud with a sigh, "But I'm not sure it's a good thing, either."

"I can't endure things like J.T. can, I don't have the support Amanda does... and trying to focus on the good things and hope for better is becoming harder every day..." Yolanda admitted to herself before quoting a favorite book of her and Amanda's, "'The days have gone down in the West, behind the hills, into shadow'."

She shook her head, "Quoting things like J.T. now... Does it make me a bad person to feel glad it was him and not me this time?"

* * *

"I hope she knows what she's doing," Jon took a bite out of his apple and chewed loudly, "Because I can say from experience that you don't want to be on John's bad side."

Marius scoffed, recalling his own experience and the fact that the Black Ranger hadn't even been involved to begin with, "I'm not sure the Black one _has_ a good side."

"Not when it comes to her, not anymore," Jon smirked, "Pity really."

"What for?"

"Since it's going to be all in their heads we won't get to watch them kick her ass..." Jon turned to leave but paused to throw back over his shoulder, "...again."

As he left the room, Jon winced and looked down to see red spreading through the bandage on his arm, a reminder that the only reason he hadn't died was because the Black Ranger had left to aid his teammates. Touching the iron-red stain and staring at the blood on his fingertips, he wondered if it would always be this way - fighting to a standstill and then one of them leaving, or would the next battle between him and his former friend be the last battle for both of them. He wasn't sure anymore... about anything.

* * *

Justin looked up from the console he was working with as Jessica entered the Command Center, "Back again?"

"Yeah," Jessica sighed, "Thanks for watching him for me."

"Hey, we'd never tell him, but he means something to all of us," Justin shrugged, "Plus, I don't want to know what he'd do if we left you to deal with it alone."

Jessica managed the barest of a smile, "Thanks... Mind staying a few more minutes? I want to update the database so he can catch up when he's back up."

Justin shook his head, "Not a problem - take your time."

"Thanks, again," Jessica answered, walking over to a different console and flicking one of the switches there, "Database Journal, Five-twenty-four..."

* * *

"...Truthfully, I think it's closer to a stick of dynamite with the lit fuse burning away," Jessica finished finally and turned off the recording function with a sigh, then spoke softly to herself "How do you handle it when the person you turn to when you're troubled is the one you're worried about?"

The redhead walked over to the cot where her other half was laying unconscious, "Come on, Johnnie, we need you... I need you."

"Hey," Justin said gently, breaking her from her thoughts, "I've got to go, will you be okay?"

"I'm scared, Justin," Jessica admitted, "I don't know what I'm going to do if he doesn't wake up."

"He'll wake up," Justin said, reassuringly, placing a hand on her shoulder, "He's too stubborn to stay out of it for long. Just be there for him... and we'll be here for you."

As the Red Ranger walked away, Jessica leaned down until her face was inches away from her partner's, "I believe in you, Johnnie."

Then she closed her eyes and kissed him, missing a soft black glow coming from his own eyes.


End file.
